Enhance an Infant's Vision Development With Homemade Baby Toys
Vision Development Facts
At birth vision is blurry and newborns can only see to a length of about 20 cms in front of their eyes, the perfect length to gaze at whoever is having a cuddle. Infants need practice to help their eyes focus and to track along lines and moving objects. Muscles that control eye movement in newborns are not yet under complete voluntary control. Visual development is very rapid. By 6 months of age. vision is similar to an adult. By 8 months. they can understand depth perception. By their 1st birthday, a child’s vision has become fully functional (Peterson 2004, p125). This is why when buying mobiles and toys you often see patterns of high contrast such as black and white and sometimes red. It is easy to make your own homemade baby toys that will enhance vision development in your young infant.
Toy Ideas
All you need is white cardboard, a black marker and a bit of imagination:
- Draw patterns on small shapes and hang as a mobile
- Draw patterns on a large sheet of cardboard, cover with clear contact and place under baby during tummy time
- Alternatively find contact with black and white shapes and patterns to use
You can also use different homemade items to hang above your baby for them to bat at with hands and feet developing their hand/eye co-ordination such as:
- Ball of scrunched up paper
- Tennis ball in a sock
- Small soft toys
Young children love to watch things that move. Hang a wind chime in a breezy spot. Make your own items that move such as tie brightly colored ribbons onto an old CD or a coat hanger and hang in a windy spot where baby can lay underneath. Blow some bubbles. Things that move assist infants to track objects and helps to develop vision development and control over eyes.
Try some finger ryhmes with your baby so they can watch your hands move as you sing. Some popular hand rhymes are:
- Incy Wincy Spider
- Open Shut them
- Round and round the Garden
- This little piggy
Enjoy this precious time with your child. Marvel together at the way things look, move and change. Be creative with your homemade baby toys and at the same time enhance your babies vision development.
References
- Peterson, C. 2004 ‘Looking Forward through Childhood and Adolescence’.
This post is part of the series: Homemade Toys for Infant Development
There are many toys you can easily make at home that encourages and enhances development in your infant in movement, vision, sensory and language.